Ajax continues to eat the lunch he packed for himself this morning. He made two breakfast egg salad wraps for himself and he was in the middle of eating his second one. Shaula was still on her first.
“By the way, is it just me or have you gotten better at cooking?” Shaula asks.
“Since when have you had a taste for food anyways? You’ll eat anything no matter what I make. At least when you’re not making bowls of bulking gruel for yourself.”
“Bowls of oatmeal and protein powder, you mean. It’s called ‘living healthy’? Well, on a budget at least”
“Hmph. Whatever.”
Ajax flinches a bit as he realizes his mistake. Shaula did end up living on the streets for a while. It wasn’t as if she was living on lobster tails and caviar like that during that period.
“I’m… sorry. I’m… glad you like the food I made.” Ajax says with a bitter smile, hoping that Shaula isn’t reminded of her past.
“Hm? Of course, why wouldn’t I?” Shaula smiles brightly, seemingly unperturbed by Ajax’s words about her palette.
Ajax and Shaula continue eating for a couple more minutes before a group of five girls come to sit on the cafeteria table beside them. Each of them were holding paper bags of food from a nearby fast food pizza place. The cafeteria tables were piled in two per row and this group had decided to sit on the table connected to Ajax and Shaula’s table.
Shaula looks over at them. She doesn’t recognize any of their faces for the most part, except for one. A girl named Ava Rodriguez. She has seen Ava in a class of hers in the eleventh grade but she didn’t have any classes with her either this semester or during the previous one.
Ajax briefly acknowledges them with a glance but had already finished his meal. He starts reading through the final exam synopsis that his English teacher had provided to the whole class.
Shaula is still in the middle of her second egg salad wrap as Ava and her friends are talking to each other and eating their meals relatively quietly.
“You know, that ribs place your dad raved about was pretty good, Maddy. I brought some home for my family and both my dad and my brother really liked it!” Ava says, grinning.
“It wasn’t my dad who raved about it, it was my grandpa.” The girl, Maddy, corrected.
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“That was your grandpa? Did your mom have you when she was fourteen or something? He looked… good…” One of the other girls in their group leers at Maddy suggestively.
“Granny would execute your entire bloodline if she heard you talking about him like that. Ah, did any of you see the finale to Soul of Shadows?” Maddy asks the group with stars in her eyes.
Shaula smiles slightly. That show is an anime that Ajax and she would watch with Rita not in the room. The season finale was two days ago and the next season was expected in November.
“No…” Ava says dejectedly. “I was going to, but I was up last night chatting with Sam. I can’t help but worry about her, you know?”
This catches Shaula’s attention. Was she talking about Samantha Chen-Miller? Shaula had seen Samantha walking through the school hallways while hanging around with a group of popular girls. She glances discreetly at the faces of each girl a bit closer. She realizes that she has seen these girls around her quite often.
Yeah, Ava was one of them too, I think.
“Is Sam alright? She’s so focused on her studies right now, I have to wonder if she’s taking care of herself properly…” Another of the girls asks, genuine sincerity in her voice.
“She’s doing better. You know, if it weren’t for all of us, I sincerely fear that she might have died a long time ago.”
“Don’t say that… Don’t say that, Samantha is a strong girl, so much braver than I could have imagined. I think she would have been fine even without us.” One of the other girls says confidently.
“I wish you were correct, Claire, really, I do, but… Based on the things she talks about, I really believe that she’s having thoughts of suicide. It just seems like she’s too scared to openly mention it to anyone.”
The other two girls stare at their hands grimly while Ava and Maddy remain stoic. Claire is fidgeting in fear. Shaula considers the reactions of the girls besides Ava and Maddy. They all seem to really… care about Samantha. Yet, Ava and, to a lesser extent, Maddy seem like… they’re putting on an act. There’s just something about their body language…
No, wait, I can’t just read into their reactions without knowing anything about them. Everyone responds in completely different ways when hearing that their friends are suicidal… Or maybe both Ava and Maddy knew about Samantha’s struggle with her own thoughts for a longer time and have gotten used to the idea of it?
“I know you all really value Samantha, right?” Ava asks her friend group.
Each of them gives positive affirmation.
“You three should look for her and talk with her right now. But, don’t mention anything about suicide specifically, she won’t take it well if others can tell what she’s thinking. Me and Maddy here already talked to her in the morning.”
After a bit of silence, the three girls, having resolved themselves for a difficult conversation, leave with their food to look for Samantha. Maddy remains with Ava, both of them watching their friends leave.
Shaula is surprised by Ava’s care but she can’t help but be skeptical. Her instincts about Ava are warning her that something is off here.